PACS with Prospects – JiveX at the Agatharied Hospital

The situation that Andreas Meier, Head of IT at the Agatharied Hospital in Hausham, inherited in 2014 was a challenging one. That was because the only recently-introduced combined system of PACS and multimedia archive wasn't really coming up to speed. To ensure stability in the hospital's medical processes, IT and the company management decided to bring in a new PACS as an image management system for all areas – with the prospect of expanding it into a multimedia archive. And what system would be better suited to that than the JiveX Enterprise PACS?

Since its introduction at the end of 2017, all medical image data has been fed into the JiveX Enterprise PACS – from ultrasound to C-arm imaging through to images from OR towers. The fact that the VISUS system was not used as an archive for all medical data right from the start is down to the cautious approach which Andreas Meier and his team wanted to pursue after replacing the previous system: "Following the mediocre experience with the predecessor system, we lacked the courage to put multimedia archiving and PACS in the hands of a single manufacturer again. It was important to us firstly to be able to map the basic processes stably. Admittedly, in the back of our minds we always had the idea of building up a standardized medical archive including documents. For that reason, we were specifically looking for a PACS offering the necessary scalability and functionality to be able to go down that path." 

An Easy Choice 

However, the fact that JiveX can readily make this leap with its Healthcare Content Management system functions including medical archiving was just one of the reasons arguing in favor of the system. Similarly important were the benefits in the here and now, for instance, a seamless integration into the existing IT landscape and a simple connection of all imaging methods along with the good performance and speed of the system. "Early on in the procurement process, we gained a good overview of the PACS market. I asked around amongst my IT colleagues, and heard only good feedback in relation to the maintenance, support, and administration of JiveX. Moreover, we looked around at the former ConhIT trade fair and asked for demonstrations of various solutions – ultimately, the demonstration provided by VISUS convinced us the most," says Andreas Meier, who has been more than pleased with his decision so far. Even the implementation phase went well and – as the IT team themselves put it – it was as easy as slicing bread. That wasn't only down to the product, but also to the excellent collaboration with the VISUS team, as Andreas Meier explicitly emphasizes: "Whether we were dealing with Sales, the Applications Team or Support – the collaboration with VISUS was exceptional at all levels. And that, too, is critical for the successful implementation of a software product."

Convincing for Users outside Radiology

Another critical success factor is user satisfaction. And in that regard, there is something special about the set-up at the Agatharied Hospital. That is, it is primarily non-radiologists who work with JiveX. An external service provider handles radiology at the hospital and they also – very conveniently – work with JiveX. Naturally, the exchange of imaging data has become a lot easier since the hospital has also been working with the system. "The images requested are now automatically fed into our PACS system and are then available hospital-wide as well as also being archived there," says Meier. However, no radiological evaluations are carried out in the hospital itself; nevertheless, there are a number of diagnostic clients which are very popular with trauma and visceral surgeons, for instance. By connecting the specialist systems of the individual specialist departments to JiveX it is possible e.g. to carry out prosthesis or aorta planning smoothly using JiveX. "JiveX is very modern. It has an excellent viewer and a high degree of functionality. At the same time, it is very intuitive to operate and is thus genuinely attractive for users. As an IT manager, you know that the best feedback from doctors is no feedback. And I haven't heard anything from our medical staff for a long time," says Meier, with a conclusive wink of the eye.

About the Agatharied Hospital

The Agatharied Hospital is a modern acute hospital set in the delightful countryside of the Miesbach administrative district in Germany. The range of medical services comprises eleven specialist departments. It is a teaching hospital attached to the Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU), Munich. What is more, it is involved as a partner in the Medical Care Center at Holzkirchen (Atrium Building), the Miesbach Orthopedic Center, the Oberland out-patient surgical center and the Oberland OPAL palliative team.